Bottle washing and sterilizing apparatus.



PATENTED DEG. 12,1905.

0. RICE. BOTTLE WASHING AND STERILIZING APPARATUS.

APPLICATION FILED P2124. 1905.

3 SHEETS-SHEET l.

@GGG

3 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

PATENTED DEC. 12, 1905.

O. EIGK.

OOQQO OGQOOQ WGQGO @OOGOO mwmmmm APPLICATION FILED FEB. 24. 1905.

CECCC fiE CCC M BOTTLE WASHING AND STBRILIZING APPARATUS.

PATENTED DEC. 12, 1905.

0. BIGK.

BOTTLE WASHING AND STERILIZING APPARATUS.

APPLICATION FILED FEB. 24. 1905.

3 SKEETS-SKEET 3.

OTTO EIOK, OF BALTIMORE, MARYLAND.

BOTTLE WASHING AND STERILIZING APPARATUS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Dec. 12, 1905.

Application filed'Pebruary 24, 1905. Serial No. 247,145.

To all whom, it may concern: I

Be it known that I, OTTO EICK, a citizen of the United States, residingat Baltimore, in the State of Maryland, have invented certain new anduseful Improvements in Bottle W'ashing and Sterilizing Apparatus, ofwhich the following is a specification.

My present invention pertains to improvements in bottle washing andsterilizing apparatus, the construction and advantages of which will behereinafter set forth, reference being had to the annexed drawings,wherein Figure 1 is a transverse vertical sectional view of one form ofthe apparatus; Fig. 2, a top plan view thereof; Fig. 3, a transversesectional view taken on the line 3 3 of Fig. 2; Fig. i, a side elevationof a modified form of the invention; Fig. 5, a transverse sectional viewon the line 5 5 of Fig. 4, and Fig. 6 an end view of a still furthermodified form of apparatus.

The main object of my invention is to provide a simple apparatus bymeans of which a large number of bottles may be readily handled, theybeing soaked, sterilized, washed, or treated with liquids in any othermanner which may be deemed necessary or desirable.

A further object of the invention is to cause the bottles to passthrough the apparatus in such manner that they shall be successivelyfilled and emptied of the fluid through which they are passed andfinally automatically discharged from the apparatus as a new series orbody of bottles is introduced at the opposite side or end thereof.

In my previous patent, No. 792,010, dated June 13, 1905, I have shownand claimed an apparatus for accomplishing the objects above stated, andthe present application discloses the shaft is provided with abevel-gear E,

which in turn meshes with a bevel-pinion F, secured upon a counter-shaftG, upon which are mounted fast and loose pulleys H I. The upper end ofthe shaft has secured to it a block or head 'J, which is provided with adownwardly-extending sleeve K, said sleeve fitting within the upperhollow portion of the column D, which projects upwardly to a heightabove the usual water-line within the tank, so that no leakage can takeplace around the shaft and through the bottom of the tank. In the formillustrated the head J is shown as provided with diametrically-disposedsleeves or tubular members L. AshaftM is mounted in each of thesemembers, said shafts extending outwardly therefrom' and being providedwith gears N, which mesh with a circular rack O, mounted upon the upperedge of the tank. Each shaft M carries a pair of spiders, each formed offour radiating arms P. The ends of the arms of each spider are inalinement, and bars Qare secured thereto, the bars being provided withways or channels in their adjacent faces which form, in effect, tracksor guides for the bottle-holding racks or frames R. These racks may beof any desired form so long as they will hold the bottles in properposition. Inasmuch as the particular shape of the racks forms no part ofmy present invention, I have not deemed it essential to show anddescribe the same in detail.

Secured upon diametrically opposite sides of the tank are two supportingplatforms or ways S T. 1 These are preferably formed of angle-iron, asbest seen in Fig. 2, and carry a series of rollers U, upon which theracks rest, so that the latter may readily slide thereon as they aremoved onto the tracks or ways or removed therefrom when the bottles havebeen cleaned.

It is intended that the rollers Ushall stand in alinement with the waysformed in the members Q, so that the racks may readily enter thechannels when the parts are brought to such position that the platformsstand in line with said channels.

The racks may be pushed into the frame by hand, if desired, though inFig. 1 I have shown means for automatically advancing the racks andwithdrawing the same from the appara tus. The means therein illustratedcomprises an endless belt V, provided with a series of fingers W, sospaced that the distance between them is slightly greater than thelength of two racks. Intermittent movement is imparted to this beltmanually or otherwise whereby the racks upon the platform S are movedinwardly. Then the racks in the lefthand frame (composed of the spiderand its members Q) will move to the next adjacent frame, while thosewhich are in the righthand frame will move out upon the platform T intothe position indicated in dotted lines. From this point they may passonto any form of apparatus which is used in connection with that hereindescribed-as, for instance, a rinsing-machine or the like.

The operation of the apparatus thus far described will, it is believed,be evident from the description and an examination of I the drawings.When the frames are supplied with bottles, motion is imparted to theupright shaft C, and by reason of its rotation the frames will becarried around the tank and turn upon their axes, so that thebottle-racks will be submerged and then withdrawn from the water,whereby the bottles will be first filled and then emptied and againfilled and emptied, this operation being repeated as often as deemeddesirable to effect the object in view. When the bottles have beensufficiently treated, the rotation of the shaft will be stopped, so asto bring one series of racks into line with the platforms or ways S andT. The belt is then brought into operation to withdraw one series ofracks and advance another series from one revolving frame to theopposite and introduce a new series of racks in place of that which iswithdrawn from one frame to another. If deemed desirable, otherplatforms or supports may be used in addition to those shown.

In Figs. 4: and 5 a modification of the invention is shown wherein arectangular tank is provided, said tank being divided by a partition a,so as to form two compartments 6 and 0. Racks (Z are mounted upon theopposite sides of the tank, and a shaft 6, having gears or pinions fupon its opposite ends, overlies the compartments Z2 0, the gears orpinions resting upon the racks. Shaft a carries spider frames similar tothose shown in Fig. 3 for the reception of a series of bottleholdingracks.

To impart rotary movement to the shaft and the frames carried thereby, Iemploy an endless belt g, which passes about suitable pulleys 7L 2',located at opposite ends of the tank, the belt in turn being connectedto a swivelblock j, mounted upon one end of the shaft. These parts areduplicated upon each side of the machine, as will be seen upon referenceto Fig. 5. In this manner the even travel of the shaft with its framesis effected without danger of twisting the shaft and the gears orpinions are prevented from jumping the teeth of the racks.

As will be seen upon reference to Fig. 4:, a series ofdischarging-platforms Z; is employed, and upon the opposite side of themachine a similar number of charging-platforms Z may be used. It will beunderstood, however, that but one platform is necessary for charging anddischarging, though with this form of apparatus it is advisable toemploy a series.

The operation of the apparatus is essentially the same as that describedin connection with Figs. 1 to 3. The racks with the bottles therein arefirst submerged and then raised out of the water and the bottlesemptied. As the racks are moved from one frame to the other, they aresubjected first to the liquid contained in the compartment 6 and then tothat in compartment 0. It is obvious that one compartment may holdliquid designed to loosen any adhering matter from the bottles and thesecond contain a rinsing liquid.

In Fig. 6 a further modification of the invention is shown. It comprisesa tank havingarc-shaped racks m at its opposite ends with a shaft nextending the length of the tank and provided with pinions or gears 0,which mesh with the racks. The shaft is designed to carry thebottle-rack-supporting frames, as in the other constructions. Any meansmay be employed for moving the shaft sidewise, and thereby causing thepinions to mesh with the racks and rotate the shaft.

It is evident that the invention may be modified in various details,andI do not, therefore, desire to confine myself to the exactconstruction herein set forth.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim :is

1. In an apparatus for washing bottles, the combination of a tank; ashaft overlying the tank; means for bodily shifting the shaft withreference to the tank; means for rotating the shaft; and means carriedby the shaft for supporting a bottle-rack.

2. In an apparatus for washing bottles, the

combination of a tank; a shaft overlying the same; a gear mounted uponthe shaft; a rack carried by the tank, with which said gear meshes; andmeans carried by the shaft for supporting a bottle-holding rack.

3. In an apparatus for washing bottles, the combination of a tank; ashaft overlying the same and supported thereby; means for moving theshaft at an angle to its longitudinal axis and with reference to thetank and thereby causing the shaft to rotate; and means carried by theshaft for supporting a bottleholding rack.

4. In an apparatus for washing bottles, the combination of a tank; ashaft overlying the same and supported thereby; means for moving theshaft at an angle to its longitudinal axis and with reference to thetank and thereby causing the shaft to rotate; means carried by the shaftfor supporting a bottle-holding rack; means located at the sides of thetank for maintaining the rack in line with the racksupporting means; andmeans for moving the rack, substantially as described.

5. In an apparatus for washing bottles, the combination of a tank; ashaft overlying the same and supported thereby; means for moving theshaft with reference to the tank and thereby causing the shaft torotate; means carried by the shaft for supporting a bottle-.

holding rack; and means to advance the rack through said supportingmeans.

. ..meshing with said pinions; and means for moving said rack-supportingmeans, whereby said means will be caused to rotate and the bottle-rackscarried thereby will be moved into and out of the tank, substantially asde scribed.

7. In combination with a circular tank; a shaft centrally disposedtherein; a frame or casting carried thereby; means for rotating theshaft; a horizontally-disposed shaft extending outwardly from the frame;a pinion mounted upon the outer end of the horizontal shaft; a rackmounted upon the tank in line with the pinion; and means carried by thehorizontal shaft for holdinga bottle-rack, substantially as described.

8. In combination with a circular tank; a shaft centrally disposedtherein; means for rotating said shaft; a frame or casting carried bythe shaft; radially-disposed shafts swiveled in the casting; a pinioncarried by the outer end of each of said shafts; a circular rack mountedupon the tank in line with the pinions; and bottle rack supporting meanscarried by said radial shafts.

9. In combination with a circular tank; a shaft centrally disposedtherein; means for rotating said shaft; a frame or casting carried bythe shaft; radially-disposed shafts swiveled in the casting; a pinioncarried by the outer end of each of said shafts; a circular rack mountedupon the tank in line with the pinions; bottle-rack-supporting meanscarried by said radial shafts; and bottle-rack-supporting platformslocated upon opposite sides of the tank.

10. In combination with a circular tank; a shaft centrally disposedtherein; means for rotating said shaft; a frame or casting carried bythe shaft; radially-disposed shafts swiveled in the casting; a pinioncarried by the outer end of'each of said shafts; a circular rack mountedupon the tank in line with the pinions; bottle-rack-supporting meanscarried by said radial shafts; bottle-rack-supporting platforms locatedupon opposite sides of the tank; and means extending over said platformsand the tank for moving the racks, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in thepresence of two subscribing witnesses.

OTTO EICK.

. Witnesses:

HOWARD E. ORUSE; JNo. H. WALRAVEN.

